This is Why You Should Stick to a Traditional Marriage Proposal

There is a growing trend, for which the internet is probably to blame, of people eschewing traditional, down-on-one-knee proposals for flashmobs and drones and giant Transformers robots. It was all bound to end in tears — specifically, with a crane smashing through a row of houses. In the name of love.

This dramatically screwed-up proposal comes to us courtesy of the sleepy Dutch town of IJsselstein. According to a number of breathless media reports, the modern-day Romeo was trying to use a crane to lower himself outside the window of his beloved, before serenading her, and, presumably, offering some kind of ring.

Inevitably, the crane toppled over, crushing his neighbour's house and causing the evacuation of nearby properties. Yes, there's a video, and yes, it's as hilarious as it sounds. It's not all sadness, though: the woman apparently said yes, and the happy couple is apparently now celebrating in Paris. But let's take this as a warning sign from the gods of marriage proposals: just give her the goddamn ring next time. [BBC]